Manchester-based communication company Tangerine said that it will place 64% of its shares into an employee ownership trust.

The announcement comes as the company celebrates its 15-year anniversary.

Tangerine chair Sandy Lindsay said: “I have always promised, since launching the business 15 years ago, that I would one day like to put it in the hands of the people who helped me grow it.”

The employee ownership trust called the Tangerine Partnership will be shared among its more than 60 team members who will all benefit from a profit share scheme and have a direct influence on the running of the business.

Lindsay added: “Our values – ‘do great work; treat people properly’ – have always been central to everything we do and we wanted to find a way to ensure we can continue these into the future for the benefit of all.”

In 2013 Tangerine created 200 jobs for young people in the North West through the launch of its social media apprenticeship scheme The Juice Academy.

Deb Oxley, CEO of the Employee Ownership Association, said: “Some of the UK’s best companies are looking to employee ownership as a great business model to adopt which helps them to attract and retain the right talent, which in turn helps to develop and maintain great relationships with clients as well as protecting the brand, ethos and contribution the businesses makes to its local economy for future generations.”